Sooner Than You Think
Banning Rupees Didn’t Work. This Might
How a low-key government effort is making mobile payments easier and could bring more Indians into the financial system.
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Venkatesh Munivenkatappa runs his roadside stall in the Koramangala neighborhood of Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore, with help from a mobile phone loaded with digital payment apps. Customers can buy his colorful sandals and handcrafted shoes and belts using Google Pay, WhatsApp Pay, Paytm, PhonePe, and an app promoted by India’s central bank called Bharat Interface for Money, or BHIM.
“I never want to turn customers away, no matter which app they use,” Munivenkatappa says. The apps make him feel less vulnerable to theft, he adds, because he doesn’t have to keep a lot of cash on hand.